A stabilised earth structure is a structure used for creating retaining walls, embankments, abutments for bridges or the like. In the stabilised earth structure, it is known to embed stabilising members in a substrate of earth, so as to obtain an earth structure that is stabilised overall thanks to the friction of the earth on the stabilising members. In some known solutions, the stabilising members are in the form of elongated strips. The stabilised earth structure is delimited by facing elements, normally prefabricated, butted against one another and provided on their rear face with anchoring members to which are fixed the extremities of the strips constituting the stabilising members of the stabilised earth structure.
Anchoring members are known that are constructed using shaped metal reinforcing rods, partially drowned in the concrete from which the facing elements are fabricated. These metal rods are bent in such a way as to form a ring or eyelet that protrudes from the rear face of the facing element and through which the stabilising member is made to pass. In some cases, anchoring members have been created that comprise pairs of rings protruding from the rear face of the facing element, within which is inserted a cylinder around which, in turn, the stabilising member is made to pass. This construction is extremely laborious and requires adequate practical skill for the correct creation of the anchoring members. In addition, the fact that the anchoring members protrude from the rear face of the facing elements renders them subject to impacts and makes it impractical to stack the facing elements on top of one another for transport. These protruding anchoring members created from metal rod are also subject to corrosion.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,855 shows a method for creating C-shaped recesses in the rear face of the facing element, into which to insert the stabilising members. It is notable that there are no anchoring members protruding from the rear of these facing elements. However, the creation of the C-shaped recesses as described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,855 is particularly complex and expensive both in terms of time and in terms of the need for qualified personnel who know how to position and extract from the concrete the cores used for creating the undercut C-shaped recesses.
The aim of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art, and in particular the problem of creating a facing element for stabilised earth structures with an anchoring system that is economical and simple to produce, as well as being reliable and secure in use.